I am an urban strategist and author who has created, developed, and directed initiatives for over a dozen cities worldwide. I am the author of Reprogramming the City and contributor to Metropolis, The Guardian, Architizer and others.
I have addressed The World Bank, The World Urban Development Congress and the European Cultural Conference on strategies for resourceful design, urbanism and creative engagement in cities, and have consulted and delivered keynote addresses on the topic in over 20 countries.
Over the course of 30 years of plying my trade around the world, I’ve developed some decent creative strategies along the way. In the lead-up to the release of my latest book, I’m sharing some of them here.Continue Reading
How to Reprogram the City is a 40-page self-guided repurposing and adaptive reuse toolkit of insights, examples, and exercises to help people discover the untapped potential in their own city. Continue Reading
By thinking of what something Could Be instead of what something Is, conditional thinking reveals new realms of possibility.Continue Reading
In conjunction with the arrival of the Reprogramming the City book, Metropolis asked me to write an Op-Ed / Opinion piece for them: “By Simply Repairing Infrastructure, We’re Missing Huge Opportunities to Make Cities More Resilient and Responsive to Citizens’ Needs” which outlines why reprogramming existing assets is such a vital need for cities.Continue Reading
The culmination of years of research, exhibition, and projects, the Reprogramming the City book is now available! “Anyone reading Scott Burnham’s essential book will emerge reassured by the transformative power of agency and creativity in the world’s urban centers that isContinue Reading
There is tremendous power in the cross-pollination of skills and their application. Mastering a skill or craft is a great achievement, but the full potential of a skill is often unrealized when it is not applied outside a specific discipline.Continue Reading
Yesterday I was thinking about a line I read in the book Chipper Jones, BallPlayer: “Make the adjustment before the pitcher does.” It’s powerful advice that applies far beyond baseball. Making an adjustment to respond to what is going toContinue Reading